RIM Recalls 1,000 BlackBerry PlayBook Tablets

Customers who've purchased a BlackBerry PlayBook recently may have gotten a flawed model.

According to Crackberry, about 1,000 PlayBook tablets have been recalled for having shipped with an OS that prevents them from loading software when first being set up.

"The majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven't reached customers. RIM is working to replace the affected devices," according to a statement from RIM.

Users can see if their tablet is affected by going to Crackberry, where the serial numbers of recalled devices have been listed.

Read the full statement from RIM below:

RIM determined that approximately one thousand BlackBerry PlayBook tablets (16 GB) were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up.

The majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven't reached customers. RIM is working to replace the affected devices.

In the small number of cases where a customer received a PlayBook that is unable to properly load software upon initial set-up, they can contact RIM for assistance.

Comments

[elsquibbs]

02:36 PM on 06/02/2011

RIM's products and software are terrible. They need to fold up shop and go the way of Prodigy ISP and the Betamax.

[vmlinux]

10:53 AM on 05/17/2011

Why is it people always say that apple products are better because more people have purchased them? Microsoft's OS's sucked for years, and were far worse than others on the market including Apple's version of BSD, but I could have said the same thing.

Blackberry's tablet is pretty good hardware, and it's OS sucks which is pretty apparent from every review. I have an iphone 3gs, an iphone 4, and a motorola Atrix, and I chose the Atrix over the Apple products because it works better for me. The 3gs sits in a drawer, and the 4g went to the wife who appreciates it's ease of use. Not once when I was deciding which phone to use did I think "hmmm, which one has sold the most units" lol. What a ridiculous argument.

[talldarkone]

11:11 AM on 05/17/2011

Excellent point and reasons people buy Apple products are because 1) Most are sheep and choose to follow along with what's popular and 2) Apple beat everyone to punch with the ipod which became a phenom. So you have to give Apple and Jobs credit for being innovative and having vision, but even in saying that, that still doesn't mean a better product. It just means name recognition.

[Blackwing]

11:51 AM on 05/17/2011

The Apple product I am using right now was purchased in 2003. All the Apple products I have ever owned over the years have worked flawlessly. I had to use a Dell computer at work which I hated. I will continue to buy Apple products because they work and I don't have to deal with repairs.

[EAPrince]

12:47 PM on 05/17/2011

Can't we please retire the tired, old 'sheeple' myth?! Brand preference doesn't automatically make one a mindless lemming. There are people who only buy Dell, or only buy Sony A/V components. I know it feels good to assume anyone you disagree with is an idiot, but that doesn't make it true. Apple does have a strong following, but it's for a reason. They control the hardware and software as well as having a unique design philosophy. They produce products with a very distinct look and feel. A look and feel that some people like and some don't. No cult. Just personal preference.

[EAPrince]

12:59 PM on 05/17/2011

You are absolutely correct that sales don't equal 'better', but it's an easy argument to reach for when it's your preferred product/service that's selling well. You put your finger on the issue that the Playbook, and to some degree most of the iPad competitors suffer from. Integrating the hardware, software and the overall experience (app store, updates, etc). Any reasonably competent company can throw together decent quality hardware and slap Android or some other OS on it. But it all still has to work together smoothly. This is where RIM and others have stumbled. OK, RIM has all but fallen on their face with the Playbook, but you get my point. It just feels like Samsung, Moto, RIM and other have just rushed off in a near panic and thrown a bunch of disparate parts together to get in on the tablet bandwagon. I don't see much evidence of careful planning and development, and that's why I think they are all having trouble.

[Gronkie]

10:50 AM on 05/17/2011

I recently switched from a Blackberry phone to an Android, and I'd never, ever, ever, go back. If I had RIMM stock I'd have sold it a long time ago. That's a company with no future.

[EAPrince]

10:23 AM on 05/17/2011

I think RIM's performance with the Playbook says it all about the company's recent activities. What are the most important and unique attributes of RIM's devices? Secure email, calendar & contact sync and BES integration. What are the features most conspicuously lacking in the Playbook? Secure email, calendar & contact sync and BES integration. So why, exactly, would anyone bother? What makes it stand out from the iPad or Xoom?

It's just surreal to watch a once dominant player walk calmly up to the tar pit and then dive in head first.

Erik
http://eaprince.blogspot.com

[DefeatDems2012]

10:20 AM on 05/17/2011

Epic fail

[clarkesq]

08:40 AM on 05/17/2011

I had a Blackberry phone that just died, even with a new battery. Never had an issue like this with any other manufacturer. I won't be buying another BB, and seeing a story like this reinforces my views.

[Marines1371]

08:40 AM on 05/17/2011

BB needs new management.

Virtually every other device out now is better than BB. Their 2011 line up wasn't any different than their 2009 or 2010 line-up; aside from OS updates.... which still $uck....

I bet BB's only saving grace is their U.S. Gov't contracts & various business markets-- which they will soon be losing to iPhone or Andriod if they dont do something while people still know their name.

[politicalgenius]

08:35 AM on 05/17/2011

The headline says RIM recalled 1,000 PlayBooks...when it should have just said "RIM Recalls ALL PlayBook Tablets (That Have Been Sold)"

[harmonybringer]

07:51 AM on 05/17/2011

This should not have beeen out in the first place...
For the quality of their smartphones is way better than this tablet.

Keeping up with Apple is not a game...

[RRRead]

08:09 AM on 05/17/2011

you forgot about the iphone antenna problem, right? Stop being a fanboy.

[politicalgenius]

08:35 AM on 05/17/2011

Resolved without a recall

[eltonb222]

08:42 AM on 05/17/2011

Resolved without a recall...and still has 90% of the tablet market. Copycats suffer dire consequences for not being original.

[sephswaenepoel]

06:15 AM on 05/17/2011

This is why you do not try to emulate technology that is comprised of concepts that are so thinly stretched you could floss your teeth with it.

[Mitchman57]

08:33 AM on 05/17/2011

The word in my house is 'fragile'.

[grandmaxnet]

06:02 AM on 05/17/2011

check out this detailed specs about Qualcomm MSM 8260 processor, which will power the HTC sensation http://www.grandmax.net/2011/05/qualcomm-msm8260msm8660-full-specs.html

[NonPrawf]

05:11 AM on 05/17/2011

Still better than any Ipad.

[425]

06:32 AM on 05/17/2011

So a 7-inch tablet, running on an unknown OS, that has sold very little, plus 1000 are defective, oh, and you need a Blackberry phone if you want to quickly check your email is better than the most popular tablet in the world.... Oh well, haters will hate. You'll hate Apple whatever they put out, though you know the Playbook wouldn't even exist if Apple hadn't made the iPad.

[Mitchman57]

08:34 AM on 05/17/2011

Hit a nerve, huh?

[George Faris]

10:34 AM on 05/17/2011

"Android tablet volumes experienced 2000% sequential growth and its global market share soared to a record 22% percent in Q4 2010," said Neil Mawson, director at Strategy Analytics, in a statement.

If accurate, the company's estimate means that some 2.2 million Android-based tablets were sold last quarter, a dramatic increase from the 100,000 sold in the previous three months.

[Closer to the Edge]

07:29 AM on 05/17/2011

Not better than an iPad that works. And mine has worked fine every single time I've used it.

[CharlesBrown008]

03:53 AM on 05/17/2011

This calls for a major drop in price.

[politicalgenius]

08:36 AM on 05/17/2011

Yea like, as the price that used to come in cereal boxes.

[politicalgenius]

08:37 AM on 05/17/2011

*prize

[freethinking moderate]

01:46 AM on 05/17/2011

This is what happens when you constantly clamor for the new rather than the proven & necessary.

[cosmocrackers]

12:58 AM on 05/17/2011

Where is that sad trombone website?